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Brad Pitt, Zombies and Weapons: A Mystery in Hungary

By Dave Itzkoff October 11, 2011 9:41 amOctober 11, 2011 9:41 am

If Hungary ever finds itself the target of an undead invasion, its police force should now be well supplied to defend the nation. Law enforcement officers there have seized dozens of weapons, including pistols, rifles and machine guns, amid conflicting reports about whether they were to be used in the filming of “World War Z,” a zombie movie starring Brad Pitt, Matthew Fox and Mireille Enos, produced by Mr. Pitt’s company, Plan B Entertainment.

MSNBC.com reported that on Monday a Hungarian SWAT team raided a Budapest warehouse that was storing weapons to be used in the making of “World War Z,” seizing 85 functioning weapons that were mostly assault rifles.

Janos Hajdu, the director of the counterterrorism center in Budapest, told The Associated Press that the weapons were flown to Budapest’s Ferenc Liszt Airport on Saturday and found in a duty-free zone nearby. He said the weapons had not been completely deactivated but would not confirm whether they were to be used in “World War Z.”

In an interview with the Neo FM radio station, Mr. Hajdu said: “It’s possible that all the weapons were brought in for the film, but this would not be allowed by Hungarian law. This is a very complicated case.”

Adam Goodman, who runs a company assisting with the production of “World War Z,” told The A.P. that it was “not true” that the film’s set had been raided for weapons. He added: “We are preparing as planned. We are not changing our schedule.” The film, adapted from the Max Brooks novel, is planned for release next year.